With the Lions in the midst of a three-game winning streak, and looking to make it four before a likely-to-be-sold-out home crowd, it’s easy to forget that this is it. Sunday is the end of the regular season, and of course the Lions won’t be playing in the postseason. This Sunday is the last Lions football we’ll have for months . . . maybe many months.
It has in fact been months since I wrote my epic post about the NFL, the NFLPA, and their CBA. In the intervening time, there’s been very little (read: no) public progress. At the time, I was frustrated at both sides’ focus on posturing, saber-rattling, and attempting to get fans “on their side”—a waste of time, since fans won’t ever be on either side. Unfortunately, while the rhetoric got spicier, the negotiating seemed to go stale. Fed up, I challenged George Atallah, NFLPA Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs, to explain why the players and league appeared to be at a standstill. His reply, via the @NFLLockout Twitter feed:
A smart business person in my previous job told me the first rule of negotiations is that 2 sides want a deal.
“I would think common sense would say at the end of the day, after all the fighting and after all the words are said, we understand who butters our bread. That’s where the urgency comes in at.”
I went to the NFL's CBA information site (NFLlabor.com, which is kind of a neat trick), and the only recent reference to the negotiations (that wasn’t a straight parody of an NFLPA release) is a link to a USA Today story that says it’s NFL who’s getting anxious about the NFLPA’s lack of commitment:
Last Sunday night, Goodell told reporters in Foxborough, Mass., that his "biggest frustration is the commitment and the energy that needs to be there. .. we (need) to get there as quickly as possible."
. . . A day later, in Minneapolis, Goodell told reporters, "I have said it publicly and I will say it again: If everyone gives a little, everyone will get a lot.. .. Any negotiation you have, not everyone is going to get what they want."
Ganis, who said he spoke with Goodell in Fort Worth, said the commissioner's "mood is not quite anxious yet, but clearly he wants to get to the negotiating table. .. get to the substance of it."
. . . of course, the last line in that article kind of puts the damper on all this supposed eagerness:
The Chicago-based businessman, who has done stadium-related work for the league in the past, said owners are "absolutely determined" not to repeat what they believe were mistakes that led to the last extension agreement.
“Absolutely determined” not repeat the mistakes that made the last agreement possible? Someone must have left a window open, because I certainly feel winter’s chill setting in. I know that doomsday talk and posturing is all part of process, but it seems like an agreement is still painfully far away. Let’s enjoy the Lions this Sunday folks; it may be a long, long time before we see them again.
Since it’s award season on the Internets, with everyone handing out notional hardware for their Ten Best ------ or ------ Of The Year, I decided to try bestowing some completelly meaningless, but mildly entertaining, honors of my own. Behold: the inaugural, and possibly annual, Blue Flame Awards!
This was a difficult choice. Of course, my indelible memory from this year will be my son’s first Lions game, against the Jets. But in a season with five-and-counting wins, one of the ten heartbreaking losses can’t be the game of the year. The completely improbable 7-3 defeat of the Packers will stand out as the Lions’ most impressive victory, the tallest giant they toppled. But the win that snapped the Lions’ road streak gets my vote as the Game of the Year. It featured the game of Drew Stanton’s life, a sustained rushing attack, a masterful drive to tie the game, and a suspense-ending first-possession overtime victory. Drama. Majesty. Victory on the road against a quality opponent. Game of the Year.
Three different quarterbacks have started (and won) football games for this team, and Linehan has done a flatly masterful job of tailoring the offense to the strengths of each. A downfield aerial attack with Stafford in, a high-percentage shell game with TEs and RBs in the slot with Shaun Hill, and an wild grab bag of quarterback runs, running back by committee (if not an entire Congress), and quick slants with Drew Stanton in. For most of the season, the Lions have been in the top ten in the NFL in scoring (they’re currently 14th). Considering the revolving door at quarterback, their nearly-a-touchdown-per-game improvement in scoring over last year (from 16.4 ppg to 22.8) borders on miraculous. Honorable Mention: Gunther Cunningham, defensive coordinator; Kris Kocurek, defensive line coach.
Given to the most dominant offensive player, this award was a complete no-brainer. For reference, see Johnson’s preposterous 46-yard touchdown catch against the Bears. He consistently presents a nightmare matchup to any defense in the NFL, anywhere he is on the field. Just before “print time,” Calvin was named a Pro Bowl starter. Honorable Mention:Jahvid Best, RB
Given to the most dominant defensive player, this award was much harder to give out. For starters, an argument could be made that Suh, despite the numbers, has not even been the most consistently dominant defensive lineman on the roster. Corey Williams has been a force against both the run and the pass, and Cliff Avril has blossomed into the edge rusher we all thought he could be. But Ndamukong Suh, in a position that practically demands two or three years of physical maturation, has brought down the enemy quarterback nine times in his rookie season, leading all NFL DTs. Further, he’s done it against frequent double-teams. He’s still against the run, and some of his sacks have more to do with pursuit than penetration—but Suh is a monster talent who’s already dominant—as of this writing, he’d just been named a starter in the Pro Bowl—and is nowhere near his ceiling. Honorable Mention: Corey Williams, DT; Cliff Avril, DE
I couldn't just pick one of these two as the most game-changing special teams player of the year. Logan’s long, dynamic returns consistently shortened the field for the offense—and once, even put points on the board. Logan was also a willing and able tackler on the kick coverage unit. Wendling consistently lengthened the field for the opponent with his amazing play as a punt gunner, both with on-the-spot tackles of opposing returners, and heroic kills of Nick Harris’s punts.
Given to the Lion who most profoundly exudes fire, toughness, and determination to win, KVB had this one sewn up Week 1. His ten-tackle, sideline-to-sideline performance against the Bears was one of the most incredible single games any defensive Lion has had in my memory—singlehandedly willing the Lions to victory. He clearly set the tone for the Lions’ best unit, both on the field and off. His approach to practice, preparation, training, and games were cited by coaches and teammates alike as the model for the rest of the squad. Honorable Mention: Drew Stanton, QB; Dominic Raiola, C
Bryant Westbrook Realized Potential Award: Cliff Avril, DE Cliff Avril, perhaps the prototypical 3-4 rush OLB, was as surprised as anyone when Rod Marinelli drafted him to play as a 4-3 end. After his rookie season, where he picked up 5 sacks in just four starts, it looked as though the third-round pick was going to quickly develop into the Lions’ premier pass rusher. However, a change to a philosophy that emphasizes bigger ends, and a lingering hamstring injury, stunted his growth in 2009. Gunther publicly questioned his “mean streak.” However, he showed up to OTAs and blew the coaches away with his preparedness, physically and mentally. He immediately locked down a starting spot, and has racked up eight sacks so far this year—including three against Green Bay. He responded to the loss of KVB by taking his play to the next level; a sure sign that he has arrived. Honorable Mention: DeAndre Levy, MLB
Commenter Matt TLiW Commenter of the Year Award: echo
Those of you who’ve been reading for a long time know that “Matt” has been a prolific, intelligent, and well-spoken commenter since nearly the beginning. I’m going to name the award after him—but I’m going to give this year’s award to “echo,” who blew up the Emmitt vs. Barry: By the Numbers post with page after page of incredibly well-researched info. Given how high that post ranks for “Barry vs. Emmitt” searches, echo has done the whole world a permanent favor. Thanks, man.
As I said on last night’s Fireside Chat, yesterday the Lions flipped the script. Instead of being the scrappy overachievers, staying one step ahead of the bear by luck and pluck for three quarters, until finally tripping over their own feet and being messily devoured, they were the bear—or, you know, lion. The Lions were the better team yesterday, and it showed throughout the game. They had more talent, more playmakers, and a great gameplan. Time after time, the Lions were just shy of catching their prey: linemen flushing Henne but not quite bringing him down, batting passes high in the air but not quite getting underneath them, corners jumping routes but never quite catching them. The swipes of their claws were always just short, their teeth never quite able to strike home.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald compared the Dolphins and Lions to pack horses and thoroughbreds, respectively. The Dolphins are a mostly-complete, mature team—one composed of smart, tough veterans who give it their all on every play. But, they have an almost total lack of dynamic talent, of home-run hitters, of game-changing playmakers. Meanwhile, the Lions are stocked with such playmakers—but have some glaring holes, too.
Infuriatingly, the Dolphins were staying ahead of the Lions with one of the Lions’ best tricks: controlling the interior of the line. On offense, the Dolphins were able to run between the Lions’ DTs—either by simply pushing them out of the way, or running past them when they penetrated. On defense, the Dolphins denied the between-the-tackles run, even to Maurice Morris. In a reversal of this year’s trend, the Dolphins were much better on third down (8/17, 42%) than the Lions were (4/12, 33%). Just as we’ve seen the Lions do against the Jets and Pats, the Dolphins held the Lions back by holding onto the ball.
. . . until it was just too much. Until the Dolphins’ dam burst. Until the Lions, so close to making the game-changing play all game long, finally made something happen. Down by ten with five minutes left, the Lions started a drive where they absolutely needed to get points—and on the first play, Jahvid Best caught a little swing pass, turned on the jets, got a great block from Nate Burleson, and took it to the house. It was a beautiful example of a dynamic, thoroughbred playmaker making a play.
On the ensuing possession, the defense finally took advantage of Henne’s many mistakes. Nathan Vasher jumped a route, and picked it off cleanly. When some dude named Brian Clark dropped a first-down catch, the Lions had to settle for a field goal—but Dave Rayner came through with a tremendous 47-yarder. On just the third Miami play after that, DeAndre Levy picked off Henne again, and this time he took it to the house for the go-ahead score. 17 points scored in just 2:24! The Dolphins’ collapse echoed the Lions’ wilting at the end of the Jets and Pats games—and this morning, the Dolphins bloggers are calling into question whether they have the right head coach on the sidelines.
It’s really, really nice to be on the other side of this one for once: being the better team, having superior talent out itself in the end, feeling relaxed and confident that the Lions are headed in the right direction—fast.
The good folks behind BallHyped.com, a new sports-blog promotion community (kind of a sports-specific Digg, Reddit, etc.), put out a call for nominations for the best sports blog of 2010. Amazingly, TLiW was one of the sixty most-nominated sites, and is therefore a finalist for their Blog of the Year award.
This isn’t an unbiased quality-based scientific thing, here—all the nominations came from BallHyped members, and votes may be cast by any Internet user. That having been said, I’m deeply honored that my fellow sports bloggers threw my name in the ring. So if you have a second, and don’t mind doing me a favor, click on the widget above (or in the sidebar), and vote for The Lions in Winter for BallHyped’s 2010 Blog of the Year. If you need to round out your three-blog ballot, but aren’t sure how, I also endorse my friend Zac at SideLion Report, and my ad network’s flagship site, The Big Lead.
Sorry to hijack the blog with a self-serving meta post. SOON: Three Cups Deep!
We had a blast on Sunday night doing the unprecedented post-third-straight-victory Fireside Chat. Many took the lack of a Sunday Night Game as an invitation to check out the live show for the first time, and it was a rollicking good time. Check it out:
Tonight at 11:00 pm EST, join me over at Ustream for the Fireside Chat live broadcast! Of course, we'll be celebrating an unprecedented THIRD STRAIGHT LIONS VICTORY, so tune in! Don't forget, bring your questions and comments to interact in real time!
I didn't have time for a fulll Watchtower, so I wrote up a Fallen Watchtower for you. Right at the end, my phone (which I was writing on) crashed, and I lost it all. So I don't even have that for you. But, I do have a prediction: 20-10 Lions.
Over the past two years, you folks have lent me your ears—and I couldn’t be more thankful. You’ve given me your time, your energy, and your emotions in reading, commenting, emailing, Tweeting; it’s been overwhelming. I don’t have much to give you in return, but . . . well, I did get you a little something. It’s an eBook collection of some of the best The Lions in Winter posts of 2009. Go ahead, left-click to read in another window, or right-click/save-as to store to your hard drive. It’s not much, but I hope you like it. I wrote a little foreword-thing, too. Um, let me know what you think in the comments. The gift receipt’s in the bag, you know . . . if it doesn’t fit.
Anyway, with all sincerity, Merry Christmas. I hope you and yours have a great one.
People: I am the self-appointed Flamekeeper. I root for this team to succeed as hard as anyone. I believe in the direction and leadership of this team as much as anyone. We have seen for our own eyes the heart, effort, and talent of the men wearing Honolulu Blue these days, and we have seen how their load has lightened with these past two wins. We can see success breeding success, winning breeding winning. But, even with all this momentum, all this karma, all this regression to the mean going on . . . the Lions are 4-10.
At the beginning of the year, most educated observers projected the Lions to win somewhere between five and seven this year—and that’s with Matthew Stafford. Here’s a Real Detroit Weekly Lions preview article, where five bloggers/writers/radio personalities gave their takes on the Lions. One of them was me, and I went big with a 7-9 mark. One of them was Jay Scott, of WGPR-FM, and he said 5-11. The other three all said 6-10. Again, without Matthew Stafford, this team is currently 4-10 with two games left to play.
We knew the Lions’ schedule was going to be fiendishly difficult, especially the first half. To have lost their quarterback, and still be within striking distance of most people’s expectations, is testament indeed to the progress that has been made. But please, let’s be honest: the team that we saw last Sunday is the same team we saw lose to the Bears two weeks ago, and functionally identical to the team we saw (not) lose to the Bears in Week 1. There hasn’t been a dramatic turnaround. The Lions haven’t “learned out to win.” The ball is just finally bouncing their way.
It’s testament to the character of the players and coaches that they’re still fighting so hard—but you can’t expect the first road win in three years to be followed up with a consecutive one. Certainly, Miami’s ripe for the picking—but the Lions have blown plenty of similar opportunities this season. Don’t get wrapped up in false expectations, don’t convince yourself the Lions can be safely pencilled in at 6-10. Don’t be surprised if the Lions lose on the road this weekend. Frankly, the last thing anyone needs is for a bunch of Lions fans turning around on Monday and griping that the Lions are already fallling short of these newly-recalibrated expectations.
Again. Again, the Lions’ defense—which had held the opponent in check all game long—had turned to wet tissue in the fourth quarter. Again, the Lions had one drive to win or lose the game. Again, I knew, the Lions would get a couple of first downs and then either commit the big turnover, or the stupid penalty. If the universe was feeling especially cruel, I knew, the Lions would get within decently-easy field goal range--then miss the field goal. Having lived my entire life a Lions fan, I knew the question wasn’t how the Lions could win, but how they would lose.
It wasn't helping my sense of foreboding that the scoreboard showed exactly what I'd predicted in my ill-formed not-Watchtower: 17-20 Lions. Drew Stanton took over at the 32, and immediately threw an incomplete pass. 2nd-and-10, and memories of the Eagles game flooded my head: the would-be tying “drive” merely four straight incompletions. But then, Drew went to work. Alternately hitting Bryant Johnson and Calvin Johnson—and, my Lord, what a catch Calvin Johnson made—Drew got the Lions into field goal range.
The first time my heart stopped was when Drew took at shot at the end zone, going again to Bryant Johnson, whose defender had slipped downfield. With the pass sailing clean into the end zone, Bryant couldn’t quite get his wheels underneath him, either, and a sure touchdown bounced harmlessly off the turf. Why? WHY?
Drew kept his head on, though, and completed a pass to Scheffler that brought the Lions to the Buccaneers’ ten-yard-line with just eight seconds left. Now, it was real. Now, the Lions faced a true choice: should they take a shot at the end zone—and lose by interception, or clock? Or, should they try a 28-yard field goal that, despite its close range, was guaranteed to be shanked, blocked, bad-snap’d, or some other awful thing that’s never even happened before? I thought to myself, I’d rather the Lions lose on a Drew Stanton interception while going for the win, than by Mysterious Dave Rayner Miss while going for the tie. Fortunately, Schwartz keeps big brass ones downstairs, and they went for the jugular.
The fade pass that Drew Stanton threw was perfect. Perfect. He put it exactly where it needed to be, and Calvin went up and over the cornerback for it, as he’d done many times before. Myron Lewis, the Bucs’ cornerback, simply made a great play. If he didn’t play that absolutely perfectly, the game would have ended right there. Another game-winning Lions touchdown bounced harmlessly off the turf. I crumpled.
So Dave Rayner and the Lions set up to kick on the sloppy, nasty grass, and I bit my nails and paced nervously and chain smoked and everything old cartoon characters do when everything is on the line. I flop-sweated, I whimpered quietly, my knees knocked (even though I was sitting on the edge of my seat). Then the snap, the kick . . . good. The Lions would delay their heartbreaking loss—and my heartbreak—for a little while longer.
But then, something funny happened: the Lions won the toss. That’s not how this script goes. That’s not what’s supposed to happen. Come on Universe, I thought, don’t play me like this. Don’t get me believing it could happen. Don’t make this hurt more than it already will! But the script had flipped: it was the Jets game in reverse. The Lions could not be denied: Maurice Morris and Jahvid Best gashed the Bucs for yards and yards. Drew hit Calvin Johnson again, and Mo Morris shaved another ten yards off. Rayner lined up, and my last nerves unravelled.
The snap, the kick, the hold . . . GOOD! GOOD! GOOD! JIM SCHWARTZ FIST PUMP! MEGATRON SMILE A BILLBOARD WIDE! THE STREAK IS OVER! THE STREAK IS OVER! THE STREAK IS OVER! Our family jumped for joy, hugging and hooting and hollering and high-fiving all over the living room. For once, for once, this game ended the right way.
Later that night, as I was getting ready for our kids' Christmas pageant, I noticed something in the mirror: there, at the edge of my goatee, was my very first gray hair.
First: apologies. This is not, in fact, a Watchtower. The runup to Christmas--as well as my ambition in cranking out the offensive piece and the Jahvid Best in the past few days--has left me without a Watchtower to present to you.
Much like the Rams, the Bucs hold a mirror up to the Lions: what if the Lions had brought in a Tampa 2 coach, like Leslie Frazier, and made evolutionary, rather than evolutionary, changes? The Buccaneers drafted Josh Freeman--a quarterback I'd championed as a possibility for the Lions two years ago--and, of course, the "other" monster DT available in this draft, Gerald McCoy. Much ink has been spilled along those lines, so I won't tip over another barrel--but in many ways, the Bucs represent an "alternate reality" version of the Lions.
At an even 20.0 points per game, the Bucs' scoring offense is ranked 22nd in the NFL. The Lions' defense is about it's equal, ranked 23rd and allowing 23.8 points per game. It sounds reasonabale to split the difference: 20-23 points for the Bucs.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions are the 17th-ranked offense, scoring 21.9 points per game. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are allowing 20.5 points per game, good for 13th-best in the NFL. If we split the difference, that's . . . 19-22 points.
Without any systemic advantages to guide us, and with rashes of injuries to both teams, I'm left with a 17-20 Lions loss.. I know the Lions are circling this date as the date the snap the road losing streak--but that losing streak is a mighty dragon, and I don't have enough data to say the Lions will slay it.
A thrilled Lions fan gets an autograph from Jahvid Best. Also pictured: some little kid
As part of the Pepsi Rookie of the Week/Rookie of the Year award, Jahvid Best, along with thirteen other top NFL rookies, has been honored with his very own Pepsi Max can. The can design got a grand introduction at Meijer the other night, and Jahvid was on hand to meet, greet, take pictures, and sign autographs. Thanks to the Pepsi Max folks, I got a few minutes alongside Jahvid to talk with him, and watch him interact with fans.
As a proud and dedicated Lions fan, I’ve been to my fair share of these events. You bring (or buy) something to be signed, you file in with the rest of the crowd, you wait your turn, the anticipation builds . . . and in a few moments of smiling and signing, you try to say something cool, reference something obscure about the player, pass along a message from another fan—something, anything to make a connection. You try and establish a bond, a kinship, a little moment of commonality with them that you can treasure forever. This time, though, I sat on the other side of the table; instead of one brief moment of connection, I got to witness dozens.
Men, women, boys, girls, people of all sizes, shapes, colors, ages all approached the table with a story, a message, or a tidbit. “Dude. I just want you to know, I scored a 92-yard touchdown with you in Madden yesterday. I just—I just had to tell you.” “I just wanted to say, we know you can do it!”Well-wishes for his health, the season, the Lions, his future. People taking pictures left and right, people who’d been through the line coming back up. The Meijer folks wanting a group picture. Through it all, Jahvid was smiling, calm, friendly, seeming not only willing, but excited to hear everyone out—even with me buzzing in his ear.
I mentioned I love the way Jahvid uses Twitter interactively; he talks about what he’s into, how he’s feeling, and he listens and responds. “I like to use Twitter to talk to fans,” he said. “I mean, I would have loved the chance to talk my favorite players growing up.” Indeed, Twitter helps us have these little connections with our favorite players all the time. I mean, when Jahvid tweets:
This jimmyjohns is hittin right now... Shoulda got two
I nod sagely, having said the same thing to myself many times. Following him on Twitter throughout the season, something that’s jumped out at me is his consistently positive outlook on life—even though he’s had to take some lumps along with the good this year. I asked him about it: “That is something my parents taught me, growing up: that you should always keep a positive attitude, no matter what happens.”
Whenever NFL talk turns to breakout rookies, an old chestnut always comes up: the “rookie wall.” When college football’s regular season ends, there’s still more than a month left to go in the pro schedule. Rookies’ bodies, we’re told, often aren’t conditioned for the long haul. “Oh, I definitely hit a wall,” Jahvid told me, “but it was much more of a mental wall than a physical wall. In college, it’s half school, half football—but in the NFL, you wake up, and it’s football. And then, football. And then, more football. Film, meetings . . . it’s a much harder grind than in college.”
In the last two games, it’s obvious that some of the burst, some of the explosion we saw in Jahvid’s running has returned. Is that, I asked, because of getting over the mental wall—or because his injury is healing? “Oh, it’s much more mental than physical,” he said, which surprised me. “I wasn’t one hundred percent—I’m still not one hundred percent—but settling into it mentally, I just feel much more like myself.”
I asked him about the turf toe; I knew someone who had it and it seemed really, really painful. “Well, the first one happened in Week 1, and the second in Week 3. Everything I kept hearing was, ‘rest, the only thing that’ll help it is rest,’ but there isn’t any rest in the middle of the season.” I asked him if maybe, looking back on it, it would have been better to shut it down for a few weeks earlier in the season, and try and come back strong. “Well . . . I don’t know. I could have done that, or I could have done what I did—either way, it’s in the past now. All I can do is focus on getting healthy going forward.”
Something I’ve always wanted to ask an NFL running back is the importance of “getting into a rhythm,” the idea of feeding your starting back a steady diet of carries early in the game, to try to get going—and know that if he’s stuffed a couple times early, his number will still be called often. Scott Linehan has been diversifying the run game, profoundly, over the past few weeks, and I asked Jahvid if he’d prefer “getting into a rhythm,” or if the rotation was helping keep him fresh, and defenses off-balance. “It doesn’t necessarily matter,” he said. “You just need to find what works for your offense, and we’re definitely finding that.” With 453 rushing yards in the last three games, it’s hard to disagree.
Given the inital results of my offensive line research, I felt it my journalistic (bloggalistic?) duty to ask Jahvid about Dominic Raiola. Full disclosure, for those who don’t know: I’ve long been a fan of Raiola. I concede his lack of road-grader-ness, but I’ve always thought his tenacity, his excellent calling of pass protections, and agile second-level blocking more than made up for his lack of pure power. I referenced Jahvid’s experience at Cal behind All-American center Alex Mack (now of the Browns), and asked him if he’d prefer to have a more beastly center opening up seams in front of him. “Oh, Raiola’s a great player,” he said. “He’s been in the league—honestly, I’m not sure how many years—but a long time. No, he makes great plays for us, and he puts us in a position to win.”
Does he have any personal goals for the remainder of the season? “A hundred-yard game,” he said. “I’ve got to get that one taken care of. Also, just getting healthy.” By this point, the swirl and buzz of the event started to reach fever pitch, and I didn’t want to take up too much more of his time. “How awesome,” I said, “is it, getting to be on your own Pepsi Max can?” He immediately flashed a bright smile. “Oh, it’s ridiculous,” he said, “a great honor for me—and the product is great, too!” I thanked Jahvid for his time, shook his hand, and shook my head in wonder as another round of flashes popped.
I do thank Jahvid, and the Pepsi Max people, for the opportunity; it was an awesome event. I also want to thank my boy, the man you know as “commenter Matt,” who served as my wingman and photographer for the event. I got some great pictures . . .
. . . and I got a new perspective on being a fan—and being a player—in today’s NFL. Now, I underscore the modern, hyperconnected, multi-dimensional fan experience with calls to action: please, vote for Jahvid for Pepsi Rookie of the Week/Year! And also, if you’re a Facebook-type-person, Like Pepsi Max on Facebook! Finally, if you aren’t doing so already, follow me, Jahvid Best, and Pepsi Max on Twitter! Double-finally, feel free to discuss in the comments below.
In the 1993 offseason, the Lions attempted to compensate for the tragic death of All-Pro guard Eric Andolsek—and freak paralysis of G Mike Utley—by signing three free agent linemen: Dave Lutz, Bill Fralic, and Dave Richards. I clearly remember the newspaper headline that echoed a quote from a coach: “Lions Add ‘900 Pounds of Beef’.” The gambit didn’t work, and the Lions have been frantically sandbagging the offensive line ever since.
Those who’ve been reading since the beginning might remember that I wrote about that memory last spring, while contemplating the additions of Gosder Cherilus, George Foster, Jon Jansen, Ephraim Salaam, and Daniel Loper over the preceding year. Four of those five are gone—yet I’ve noted several times this season that the offensive line is better than you think it is, especially in pass protection. Many have rampantly bashed Cherilus, as well as usual suspects like Backus and Raiola all year long. Many and called for drastic action to overhaul the offensive line, theoretically to protect the Lions’ investment in Matthew Stafford. Few, however, seem to realize that the Lions’ O-line is keeping its quarterbacks clean as well as any in the NFL.
“ . . . was created by sports information leader STATS to provide a composite gauge for this undervalued component of the game. While the New York Life Protection Index is calculated using a proprietary formula, the fundamentals are comprised of the length of a team’s pass attempts combined with penalties by offensive linemen, sacks allowed and quarterback hurries and knockdowns.”
Okay, so check out the New York Life Protection Index, and check out where the Lions rate: ninth. Ninth? Yes: ninth-best in the NFL, first-best in the NFC North. Yes, in pass protection. Yes, the Lions. I’m tempted to crow about how all of my suspicions have been confirmed, and how my own eyes have been seeing the truth while all others’ have been clouded with lies and suspicion, and on and on and on, except . . .
The Colts are first. The Colts, whose profound struggles on the offensive line are a matter of fact, are ranked #1 by this metric. This reminds me of that year the Lions allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL, at least in part because Joey Harrington was throwing the ball into the stands on every third dropback. Something similar has to be happening here with Peyton Manning and the Colts’ patchwork line . . . but how do we capture it? Let’s examine another advanced offensive line metric, one that’s far less of a “black box.”
Adjusted Line Yards: 3.25 per carry, ranked dead last in the NFL.
Power Success: 59%, ranked 17th in the NFL.
Stuffed: 25%, ranked 27th in the NFL.
2nd Level Yards: 1.00, ranked 25th in the NFL.
Open Field Yards: 0.43, ranked 28th in the NFL.
So, the Lions’s offensive line isn’t doing great; it’s actually the worst run-blocking line in football. Detroit running backs have the least daylight to work with of any in the NFL. This, unlike the Colts being #1 in pass protection, jibes with what we’ve seen on the field. But Football Outsiders’ ALY stat can drill down even deeper. They’ve actually broken down the Adjusted Line Yards by gap: “A” gap (between center and either guard), left and right “B” gap (between guard and tackle), and “C” gap (outside tackle/between OT & TE). Here’s what they came up with for the Lions:
L END
L TACKLE
C/GUARD
R TACKLE
R END
RNK
TEAM
ALY
Rnk
ALY
Rnk
ALY
Rnk
ALY
Rnk
ALY
Rnk
32
DET
4.65
13
3.7
25
3.33
30
2.73
32
1.61
32
-
NFL
4.31
-
4.19
-
4.06
-
4.03
-
4.06
-
This table has two rows: the Lions, and the NFL average. Working from left to right, we see that runs to the outside of Jeff Backus, or between Backus and the tight end, get the benefit of slightly-above-average run blocking. Runs between Backus and Sims have get below-average help from the line. Runs on either side of Dominic Raiola get poor help from the offensive line, runs between Stephen Peterman and Gosder Cherilus are at a steep disadvantage to the rest of the NFL, and . . . well, just don’t run to the outside of Gosder.
This is both surprising and unsurprising. First, remember when the Lions passed on Michael Oher to take Brandon Pettigrew? Some subscribed to the notion that Pettigrew’s size and blocking would result in improved pass protection and running lanes anyway—getting “offensive line help” without actually drafting a lineman. Football Outsiders’ stats show this is exactly what’s happening, which is surprising and exciting. What isn’t surprising is the total lack of daylight in the A gaps. Stephen Peterman has been playing hurt, and Lord do we ever see it here. And Gosder? I had no idea the Lions were struggling so much to run behind him. These numbers are flatly appalling for a 6’-7”, 325-pound RT with a legendary mean streak.
Okay, so the left side of the Lions' line is average at run blocking, and the center and right side are butt-naked last in the NFL. So how did the Lions end up with the ninth-best offensive line by the New York Life Protection Index? Well, because that looked only at pass protection. Well, what does Football Outsiders have to say about pass blocking?
Adjusted Sack Rate (ASR)/Sack Rate: Sack Rate represents sacks divided by pass plays, which include passes, sacks, and aborted snaps. It is a better measure of pass blocking than total sacks because it takes into account how often an offense passes the ball. Adjusted Sack Rate adds adjustments for opponent quality, as well as down and distance (sacks are more common on third down, especially third-and-long).
The Lions rank 4th in the NFL in adjusted sack rate, having allowed just 24 sacks while passing constantly against tough competition. Above them are the Saints, the Giants, and . . . at number one . . . the Colts. Okay, so this metric has its limitations, too—it’s still derived almost entirely from sacks. Clearly, we can’t just measure pass protection by sacks allowed, because sacks are as often taken by quarterbacks as they are allowed by the offensive line.Aaron Schatz ended the 2003 “Fun With Sacks” article where he conceived of Adjusted Sack Rate with the following plea:
Consider this a public request: If you have an idea for another statistic to measure pass blocking/pass rushing, please let me know. The never-ending quest for knowledge marches forward!
It seems unlikely that the Lions’ defense does that well against an offense that good twice in a row, though, so I’m going to project the Packers to slightly underperform scoring expectations: gaining 23-26 points. I expect the Lions to be more successful defending the pass with zone coverage, allowing 8.0-8.5 YpA, at the expense of fewer interceptions. The Lions will likely cede the run to the Packers again, allowing 4.25-4.5 YpC. I have high confidence in this projection.
3 points, 3.30 YpC, 6.02 YpA. Tremendous performance by the defense.
As I said, in Week 4, the Lions managed to hold the Packers’ offense to as few points as can be expected, given how effective they were on a per-play basis. If the same offense shows up this week, I don’t see the Lions being so fortunate.
It can be argued that the same offense didn't show up—but the defense far outstripped their Week 4 effort, even with several key starters lost. I’m still stunned at how well this defense performed on Sunday.
I don’t expect the Lions to put up 454 yards against the Packers this time around, but I do project them to be more productive with their yards: scoring 17-23 points, gaining 4.50-5.00 YpC, and throwing for 5.75-6.00 YpA.
Yeah not so much. The yards projections were fairly close—4.63 YpC and 5.32 YpA—but they spun that effectiveness into a single measly touchdown. Two interceptions and a missed field goal didn’t help.
The Lions gave the Packers their best shot in Week 4, and lost the game mostly by shooting themselves in the foot. Between a truly massive amount of penalties (13 for 102 yards), and the now-obligatory Charles Woodson pick-six, the Lions let the Packers off the hook. As I said above, it’s hard to believe that the Lions could play that well against a team as talented as Green Bay twice in once season—and yet, it’s there. It’s there for them, again. They lost by two on the road before, they can win this one at home. They can . . . but they won’t.
They could . . . and they did.
CTRL-C, CTRL-V, folks. This will be an extremely painful 17-24 defeat.
Or, an incredibly improbable 7-3 victory! I haven’t ever been more wildly wrong in a score projection, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I will take that over, and over, and over, and over. Okay, I’ve got an idea: let’s talk about everything I said that was right.
Look for the Lions to drop eight men into coverage on a regular basis, essentially the same game plan we saw against the Patriots on Thanksgiving. The idea is to get enough rush from the front four to slow down the Pack’s offense just long enough for the Lions’ offense to outscore them.
The Lions did blitz the Packers more than they blitzed the Pats—but they certainly got most of their production from the front four. It also took a looooooooooooooong time, but they slowed down that Pack offense just long enough for the Lions’ offense to outscore them. Barely.
Greg Jennings will be the key to this game for the Packers’ offense. If the Lions can stop him with double- and triple-teams, I don’t think Donald Driver and Donald Lee will be enough to score more than the 23-26 I project, if enough to score that much at all.
Greg Jennings: 4 catches, 52 yards, one bobbled pass that was ultimately intercepted. They didn’t score the 23-26 I projected, either.
Last year, I thought I’d identified a systemic advantage for Scott Linehan against Dom Capers (and most 3-4 defenses), where the running game was disproportionately effective, and scoring was therefore disproportionately higher.
They didn’t score much, but the Lions ran very well against the Packers—the #1 defense in the NFL—and it was the difference in the game.
However, the Packers are allowing 4.49 YpC on the ground, 7th-worst in the NFL—so clearly, my notion that the Packers are generally struggling against the run was true. Further, the Lions will be starting Drew Stanton, whose running ability is well-known, and whom the Lions have never hesitated to call designed running plays for. I expect to see at least one rushing touchdown, or 20-plus-yard scramble, from Drew Stanton on Sunday.
Drew ran 4 times for 44 yards. He didn’t score, and his long was only 17 yards (not 20). However, on his other three carries he averaged 9 yards per; he was asked to make plays with his feet and he did—along with the six other Lions who toted the rock on Sunday.
First, this presumes that Drew Stanton plays like he did last week: an efficient, effective, conservative backup quarterback. If Stanton has a regression to his “2009 49ers game” form, this will be an ugly blowout. However, there’s an X factor here named Jahvid Best. We saw a return to form last week, and if he still has that burst, that bounce, he could do an awful lot of damage against a Green Bay defense that’s lost three of its top five linebackers for the year.
Unfortunately, Drew did regress to 2009 form against the Packers’ defense—at least for the first three quarters—and boy, was it ever ugly. However, the running of Best, Maurice Morris, Stefan Logan, and Stanton himself bailed the offense out.
Finally, in the first matchup, Brandon Pettigrew made a lot more headlines for the two or three crucial passes he dropped, than the eight he caught for 91 yards. Likely being matched up against A.J. Hawk, as 49ers TE Vernon Davis was last week (4 catches, 126 yards, 1 TD) could result in a field day for Jumbotron.
Okay, this one was pretty much entirely wrong; Pettigrew was held to just 2 catches for 14 yards. However, it’s worth noting that the game-winning touchdown came on a tight end screen to Will Heller—who was spelling Pettigrew. Further, Heller ran right through A.J. Hawk on his way to paydirt.
That’s the only word to describe it. In just over twenty four hours, the roof of the Metrodome collapsed, the Lions held the 25-point-per-game Packers offense to a field goal in a 7-3 victory, and Ford Field sold out of free tickets to the re-located Vikings/Giants game in just 90 minutes.
Turk McBride led the Lions with two sacks, as the Lions’ defensive line won the game almost by themselves. The Lions’ 190 team rushing yards outstripped their team passing yards by the length of a football field. Nearly as many Lions, 7, had at least one rushing attempt as had at least one reception, 8. Greg Jennings not only didn’t put the team on his back, his bobble was the difference between a 75-yard touchdown and an Amari Speivey interception. Drew Stanton, after an appalling game throwing the football, was flawless on the game-winning drive. It must be said: the Lions won as they have lost—improbably, incredibly, nerve-shreddingly, and with more than a touch of surreality.
Jim Schwartz has given the players the day off today, which is a fitting reward. Those hearty souls who waited outside in the freezing cold of the wee small hours were rewarded with tickets to tonight’s Vikings-Giants game—which the Lions’ staff has truly pulled out all the stops to accommodate. Kevin Seifert detailed the Lions’ efforts to make their division rivals feel at home, which includes stadium sounds, scoring their mascot Ragnar a Harley, and scrubbing off the Lions wordmark and logo from the turf, and painting the Vikings’ logos on the field instead.
I’m incredibly proud of Lions fans, and the Lions organization, for putting together this incredible effort. With just over a day’s notice, the Ford Field staff and the city of Detroit will give the nation a Vikings-Giants environment nearly indistinguishable from the one that had been scheduled for months. This is a tremendous achievement, one that should be worn as a badge of honor by Mr. Ford, Tom Lewand, everyone in the Lions organization, the people of Detroit, and all Lions fans everywhere.
If you're lucky enough to go, a list of acceptable TLiW modes of rooting:
Wear Vikings gear and root Vikings. They're our NFC North neighbor, after all, and having them avenge the Giants loss would be nice. Besides, if we're replicating the real home field experience for them, why not be truly committed?
Wear Lions gear and root for a good game. Hey, it’s a free NFL game in Detroit! Let’s just make it classy and memorable for everyone.
Wear Lions gear and boo the hell out of the Vikings, because screw the Vikings.
Now, all that having been said . . . I can’t wait until they scrub that Vikings crap off our field. It’s making me itch.
This is what I want: revenge. I want to see the Lions, bruised and battered though they may be, take control of their fate. Screw the records, screw the refs, just go out and beat a division rival at home. I want to see the Lions take out their frustrations. I want to see Calvin stiff-arming people, Javhid breaking long ones, Maurice Morris pounding people, and Drew play a clean game while making plays. I want to see the defense force Aaron Rodgers to run for his life, sacking him early and often. I want to see the Lions get a big turnover early, and capitalize on it. I want to see the Lions wrest control of this game from the Packers at the opening gun, and never relinquish it.
I want to see the Lions take back what’s been taken from them. Show a near-national audience what they’re made of. Prove to the world that they’re more than what they were. Leave no room for doubt, for error, for injustice, or for theft. I want to see the Lions get payback for everything that’s been done to them. Revenge! I want to see it. I want to taste it.
I bet it tastes sweet.
2nd-half update: Well, half the Lions are out for revenge. This is the best half of defensive football I’ve seen the Lions play in years. Now, if only the offense could hold up even part of their end of the deal.
VICTORY UPDATE: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Don't forget to pop in for the Fireside Chat podcast, streaming LIVE tonight at 11 EST! Bring your comments and questions! And your WOOOO!
The Packers are sitting at 8-4, one game behind the Bears in the race to the top of the NFC North. The Lions are sitting at 2-10, three games ahead of the Vikings in the race to the bottom of the NFC North. By the Simple Ranking System, both teams are much, much better than their record implies: the Packers’s value is 10.0; #2 in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Lions are valued at 0.0, and ranked 16th. Statistically speaking, the Lions are the median team: right smack dab in the middle of the NFL, in terms of relative strength. But is that enough to compete with the mighty Pack, even before a sold-out Ford Field?
Mike McCarthy vs. Gunther Cunningham
McC
Ornk
PgG
YpA
YpC
Gun
Drnk
PpG
DYpA
DYpC
PTS
PTSΔ
YpA
YpAΔ
YpC
YpCΔ
NOS
14
21.2
6.43
4.46
TEN
29th
27.2
8.05
4.62
12
-43%
8.04
25%
1.53
-66%
NOS
14
21.8
6.62
3.96
KCC
16th
20.3
6.58
4.10
27
24%
9.59
45%
5.83
47%
GBP
3rd
28.8
7.56
4.30
DET
32nd
30.9
5.42
4.42
26
-10%
9.68
28%
3.57
-17%
GBP
3rd
28.8
7.56
4.30
DET
32nd
30.9
5.42
4.42
34
18%
8.92
18%
2.96
-31%
GBP
7th
25.2
7.68
3.99
DET
25th
25.5
7.18
4.58
21
-17%
10.65
39%
4.28
7%
GBP
7th
25.2
7.68
3.99
DET
25th
25.5
7.18
4.58
In the last Watchtowering of the Packers, I discussed the very strong statistical trend we’ve seen when Mike McCarthy faces Gunther Cunningham:
Given equal or greater talent, Gunther Cunningham’s aggressive 4-3 disproportionately disrupts Mike McCarthy’s downfield flavor of the Bill Walsh offense. Given lesser talent, Gunther’s 4-3 will cap offensive production with sacks and turnovers, even while allowing better-than-average offensive effectiveness between the 20s.
In the last two meetings, however, the Packers’ offense has underperformed even this. In both cases, the Packers scored the amount of points I projected—but with the help of a defensive touchdown, meaning the offense was a full TD below what expectations project. Last time, I projected the Packers to do the following:
With the Lions possessing a systemic advantage against the Packers’ already injury-weakened running game, and in depressing the Packers’ scoring, I project the Pack will fall just short of their season average, scoring 24-27 points. I have very high confidence in this projection.
Given the depth and specificity of the data we’ve got, and the special circumstances surrounding the matchup, I’ll take the opportunity to get a little more specific: I cite my Whack-A-Mole principle, and project that the Lions will concede the run to the Packers, allowing 3.75-4.0 YpC, in order to focus primarily on the pass, which should yield 7.5-8.25 YpA. Further, I predict the Lions will sack the Packers four to six times.
The Pack did bomb it down the field, picking up 10.65 YpA—but with only 17 attempts, and two of those picked off, that only amounted to 181 yards. The Lions did cede the run to the Pack in the process: 4.28 YpC. The Lions sacked the Packers twice (on only 19 dropbacks), though, and recovered two fumbles in addition to those two INTs. The disruption in scoring is obvious: the Packers are the 7th-best scoring offense in football this year, averaging 25.2 PpG, and the Lions—the 25th-ranked defense—held them to just 21 offensive points. Keep in mind, the Lions have been allowing 25.5 points per game on the average; to hold the 7th-best offense to less than what you’ve been allowing on average all year is an impressive feat.
So. The Lions are allowing 25.5 points per game, the Packers are scoring 25.2 points per game. The Lions have since put their #1 DE, Kyle Vanden Bosch, and #2 corner, Alphonso Smith, on Injured Reserve. However, the Packers have since lost #1 RB Ryan Grant, and #1 TE Jermichael Finley to injuries, as well. The last game was at Lambeau, but this game will be a a Packer-fan-filled Ford Field. As I said last week, rarely do two meetings between two teams in the same season end up with the same result, but all the factors seem to cancel each other out.
It seems unlikely that the Lions’ defense does that well against an offense that good twice in a row, though, so I’m going to project the Packers to slightly underperform scoring expectations: gaining 23-26 points.I expect the Lions to be more successful defending the pass with zone coverage, allowing 8.0-8.5 YpA, at the expense of fewer interceptions. The Lions will likely cede the run to the Packers again, allowing 4.25-4.5 YpC. I have high confidence in this projection.
Mitigating/Aggravating Factors:
Again, with such a consistent trend, and a prior game this season, everything above is a mitigating or aggravating factor—we’re just looking to see what will modify what happened before. As I said, in Week 4, the Lions managed to hold the Packers’ offense to as few points as can be expected, given how effective they were on a per-play basis. If the same offense shows up this week, I don’t see the Lions being so fortunate. On the other hand . . .
Look for the Lions to drop eight men into coverage on a regular basis, essentially the same game plan we saw against the Patriots on Thanksgiving. The idea is to get enough rush from the front four to slow down the Pack’s offense just long enough for the Lions’ offense to outscore them. Greg Jennings will be the key to this game for the Packers’ offense. If the Lions can stop him with double- and triple-teams, I don’t think Donald Driver and Donald Lee will be enough to score more than the 23-26 I project, if enough to score that much at all.
Scott Linehan vs. Dom Capers
Lin
Ornk
PgG
YpA
YpC
Dom
Drnk
PpG
DYpA
DYpC
PTS
PTSΔ
YpA
YpAΔ
YpC
YpCΔ
MIN
6th
25.3
7.16
4.71
HOU
21st
19.3
6.89
3.92
34
34%
7.92
11%
4.69
0%
STL
30th
14.5
5.67
3.95
MIA
21st
21.6
6.61
2.35
12
-17%
4.26
-25%
4.30
9%
DET
24th
18.1
5.60
3.91
GBP
12th
20.3
6.17
4.46
0
-100%
4.20
-25%
4.33
11%
DET
27th
16.4
7.80
4.42
GBP
7th
18.6
5.96
3.59
12
-27%
4.95
-37%
3.17
-28%
DET
13th
23.2
5.92
3.72
GBP
1st
15.7
6.02
4.49
26
12%
6.13
4%
5.86
58%
DET
13th
23.2
5.92
3.72
GBP
1st
15.7
6.02
4.49
Last year, I thought I’d identified a systemic advantage for Scott Linehan against Dom Capers (and most 3-4 defenses), where the running game was disproportionately effective, and scoring was therefore disproportionately higher. Then, Daunte Culpepper went out and Daunte Culpeppered the Lions to a big stinky shutout in their first matchup against the Pack, seemingly blowing my theory out of the water. However, this season has shown that my initial conclusion has legs.
This year, the Packers have the #1 scoring defense in the NFL. Yes, that’s right, let me say that again: this year, the Packers have the #1 scoring defense in the NFL. You wouldn’t know it from how little attention this fact has received, but it’s true. Nevertheless, Shaun Hill led the Lions to a 26-point day against these Packers on the road, and his 40-yard scramble led the Lions’ rushing attack to an impressive 5.86 YpC.
In the comments on the last Watchtower, commenter Matt pointed out that a lot of the Packers’ rushing yards allowed to that point were gained by Michael Vick—and sure enough, the Packers allowed the Lions some significant scramble yardage, as well. I replied in the Watchtower Review:
My notion that Green Bay is generally struggling against the run this year was false. However, we may have stumbled upon something interesting: are Green Bay’s nickel packages especially susceptible to quarterback runs? With a three-man front attempting to rush the passer, and one or more linebackers blitzing, it would make sense that there’s a giant gaping hole in the middle of the field. I’ll be keeping an eye on this throughout the season . . . and for the next Watchtower.
Well, I can’t find an quick answer for how many yards the Packers have been surrendering to rushing quarterbacks, or if that total’s unusually high. However, the Packers are allowing 4.49 YpC on the ground, 7th-worst in the NFL—so clearly, my notion that the Packers are generally struggling against the run was true. Further, the Lions will be starting Drew Stanton, whose running ability is well-known, and whom the Lions have never hesitated to call designed running plays for. I expect to see at least one rushing touchdown, or 20-plus-yard scramble, from Drew Stanton on Sunday.
Typically, the Lions are outgained by their opponents, but keep games close with red-zone defense, sacks, and turnovers. However, against the Packers, the Lions actually far outgained the Pack, outrushing them 123 to 91, and outpassing them 331 to 181. It was only a slew of costly penalties that kept the Lions from scoring thirty or more the last time around. I don’t expect the Lions to put up 454 yards against the Packers this time around, but I do project them to be more productive with their yards: scoring 17-23 points, gaining 4.50-5.00 YpC, and throwing for 5.75-6.00 YpA.
Mitigating/Augmenting Factors:
First, this presumes that Drew Stanton plays like he did last week: an efficient, effective, conservative backup quarterback. If Stanton has a regression to his “2009 49ers game” form, this will be an ugly blowout. However, there’s an X factor here named Jahvid Best. We saw a return to form last week, and if he still has that burst, that bounce, he could do an awful lot of damage against a Green Bay defense that’s lost three of its top five linebackers for the year. Finally, in the first matchup, Brandon Pettigrew made a lot more headlines for the two or three crucial passes he dropped, than the eight he caught for 91 yards. Likely being matched up against A.J. Hawk, as 49ers TE Vernon Davis was last week (4 catches, 126 yards, 1 TD) could result in a field day for Jumbotron.
Conclusion
The Lions gave the Packers their best shot in Week 4, and lost the game mostly by shooting themselves in the foot. Between a truly massive amount of penalties (13 for 102 yards), and the now-obligatory Charles Woodson pick-six, the Lions let the Packers off the hook. As I said above, it’s hard to believe that the Lions could play that well against a team as talented as Green Bay twice in once season—and yet, it’s there. It’s there for them, again. They lost by two on the road before, they can win this one at home. They can . . . but they won’t. Here’s what I said at the end of the last Watchtower:
I'd love to say that this Packer team, struggling so mightily to run and stop the run, is primed for an upset. But the talent gap between these teams is still too large, especially when considering the almost-two-decade-long streak of Lambeau futility the Lions are riding. I project another tantalizingly close game, with an outstanding day by the defensive line—marred by the back seven yielding to one of the best passing attacks in the game. This will be an extremely painful 17-24 defeat.
CTRL-C, CTRL-V, folks. This will be an extremely painful 17-24 defeat.
In the 1993 offseason, the Lions attempted to compensate for the tragic death of All-Pro guard Eric Andolsek—and freak paralysis of G Mike Utley—by signing three free agent linemen: Dave Lutz, Bill Fralic, and Dave Richards. I clearly remember the newspaper headline that echoed a quote from a coach: “Lions Add ‘900 Pounds of Beef’.” The gambit didn’t work, and the Lions have been frantically sandbagging the offensive line ever since.
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